Ring packing



OM. 28,!1930. J. F. BATTY 1,779,837

RING PACK'I NG Filed Aug. 30, 1927 /osgab f:

Patend Oct. .28, A1930 v UN ITEDVSTA'TES PATENroFFic- 3 JosnPH"r.-BATTY, orjnimrnuonn, MARYLAND f f I, nins rnozvev '5 tive characterwhich is designedtoeXert' a uniform radial pressure against the AWall ofthe cooperating.. cylinder orchamber, unaff'ected by the pressure of thesurrounding Working fluid.

10 VA further object is ito devise ar packing. of

the character described in Which the pressure exerted thereby. isoccasionedfsol'ely byitsini lherent, elastic nature, :the constructionjof said packing rendering possible the main- ..15 vtenancegif aconstant? pressure against'the cooperatng wall 'for .some predetermned'time, with successive renevvals thereofduring-thelife of the packing. iA further object is., to devise a ;metallic packing of a double ringlconstruction Which effectively; prevents leakage of the Working fluidWithout undue Wear ofthe vccra'cting wa1l,,or of thepacking itself, theu'seful life ofthe latter being accordingly increased beyond that nowobtainable in the art; f I

In reciprocating engines, pumps andfimech'- .anisms of va similarcharacter, the necessity of interposing a non-leakage constructionbetween the piston and cylinder ,wal-l has re*- .sulted in a variety ofproposed. solutions. Chiefly, they comprise either a soft packing, suchasV hemp, Which is. suitably retained in position, or metallic rings,With-.or Without springs, Which When compressed'byv the cyl- -in'derWall are intended to eXert -aun"iform`, 'radial pressure thereagainst;dv Thefirst type has been largely abandoned for'prim'e ,inOvlers, owingto the difficulty of repacking, considerable friction losses, and theuse lof high pressure steaml The metallic packing has achieved moresuccess, particularlyfinthe spring ring type 'but the latter is-stillcharacterized by several ;operating disadvantages in connection withsteam Vand internal .Combustion engines. 1

The pressure .Which a spring ring exerts against a cylinder Wall dependsupon its size'and details'of construction and is greatest When firstplaced .in'positionf thegpressure thereafter decreasing with use. The

`standard type. v

original pressure can only be.V approximately restored 'by Vrespringingthe ring, Which tends to increase thev leakage at the split portion.Again, since the standard form of ring is capable of lateral movement inits groove, the Working fl'udpasse's behind-'the ring through the splitand:A serves toincrease the pressure With Which thering acts against thecylinder Wall, particularly on the side ofthe ring opposite the split,Withconsequent increase in Weariof theseveral parts on one side. Inhorizontal engines of large size, the latter defect is furtheraccentuated by the' tendency of the ringto bear-,inore heavily againstthe, :lower portion' of the cylinder Wall under'flthe" action ofgravity. Toa certain extent, the tendency'toy excess pressure on oneside Vof the ring hasbeen eliminated by using afdoublering construction,the splits thereof being on opposite sides of the piston,, therebyopera-ting; to equalize the Wear on the cylinder' wall. In theV latterinstance, however, the fluid pressure still occasions more Wear of thecylinder Wall and rings than'is desirable. i f, I

The' existence of the foregoing situation has resulted in the conceptionof the ring packing embodiedin the present application. Briefly, itcomprises va metallic ring which is retained in a Wedged in'annerfon thepiston so that 'the pressure lWhich-it exerts against a cylinder` Wallisdue solely to 'its inherent elasticity, Vpositive `rneans vbeingutilized to prevent the working fluid acting for that purpose.H'A'cco`rdingly, friction lwith` its accompanying Wear is reduced toaminirnum Without affecting the non-leakage' vcapacityV of ;thepacking-;As wear occurson `the Working facev :of ,the ring, relieving,the side Vthereof Will again 'causefftheringto bearv against thecylinder Wall-, sincejthe elasticity ofthe ring. tends cntinuallyv'ftoexpand it in a radialdirection, Hence,since v the packing operates vonlyunder a pressure Which is suflicientltol prevent' leakage, it ;issuperior as regards long'evityl tothe ring'fof Preferably, myimproved/pacl'zing einbodied inV a double ring-construction,- because ofi-ts improved'sealing "capacity over vzoo said figure.

single rings of equal size. The same principle is applied, as regardsthe efilect of the fiuid pressure, to the elements coniprising the ringas between themselves, as has been discussed above for the ring as aunit; that is, the ring as an entity is not only locked in position, butthe elements of the ring are interlocikedl with 'each other.., i

These and furtherI objectsof my invention Will be set forth in thefollowingvspecification, reference being -l-,i-ad-to-;the ;accompany-jing drawing, and thenovel means by which said objects are effectuatedwill be definitely a pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing: 1 1 -i v Fig.,1 is an elevation, partly in section, ofai'piston showing my improved ring packing applied thereto. i i c Fig, 2is a View looking l'in the direction of the'arrow 2 in Fig; 1, showingaporti'o'n of the .segmental retaining ring utilized for maintaining thepacking-in` position; I

Fig, 3 is a' view of aportion offig.V 2, looking in the direction 'o fthe arrow Fig. ii'is a view similar to a portion .o'f'F 1, illustratinga; modification of the ring pflckinsy f i i As shown inthe drawing, thenumertal' ;10 represents a piston rod on wh'ic'his secured.l inianyapproved manner aipston 11. in 'the lateral surface ofsaid piston'isVrecessed a circumferential groove 12 of convenient width anddepth, ,the"`sidesof said' groove 4 being parallel to the'diamezter ofsai'dspiston,

lwhen properly seated as'l'hereinafter ex.-

plained and are aligned 'to 'constitiitelthe ;Working face ofthepacking'- 1.1 L' i 'bejs'plit as at The elements le and 15 may and 17,respectively', in; order fojform a V:sprn'ig 'ring packing ,F I'oln 'theforegoing, it'will be understood that, as'sh'own in Fig` 1, the.underside ofthe upper, packing and ;the upperside' of the lower' iaoking 'converge-inwardly toward the vertical center line` ofthe.piston. Inorder to nantansad packllsn, POStiOnffi P6- tainingv ring,composed of a'plurality of segments 18 is employed,l each isegmentfbeingfixed in position vby'screws suchgas 19 and having, inclined upperandpl'ower'surfaces for cooperatingwith,w the similarly inclined isurfaces o fthe vpacking rings 13. 'IThe ends of each segment may benotched as at 20 for engagement with the coacting ends of adjacentsegments in order to obtain a satisfactory application of the: retainingpressure against the packing.

In placing my improved ring packing in position, the latter will beexpanded ra-dially as permitted by the splits 16 and 17 nntil theinternal dia-meter thereof becomes suhciently largerthan the outsidediameter of the piston permitseating of thepacking in the groove 12. Thesegments 18 will then be placed in position as noted above.

The size of the packing 18 will depend upon the operating:conditionsasfregards the requirements of radialpressure and wheninitially seated, .the

v relation betweenV said packing Aand the segments 18 will be suchas tolsecure anadequate projectionof the working face of the packing beyondthe lateral-'surface vof the piston when in position inthe cylinder; The

'natural elasticity of the packing will exert the requiredradialpressure against the cylinder wall, but Vthe Wedged relation 'existingbetween said'packing and said segments will effectively prevent anyradial ;movement outwardly ofthev packing due' to the pressure of theworking Vfluid. Excessive 'wear vfrom the latterv cause is-acco-rdinglyprevented with 'an increase the lifeo'f the packing.

lAfter the packing has worn sutficiently so that it no longer bears withthe proper pres- 'sure against the -w-all of the cylinder, 'it may beremoved from the piston and the thick'- ness vthereof'decreased byrelieving 'in any suitable manner that' face thereof which is seatedagainst the wall lof `the groove 12. Alecordingly, When again placed in(said groove, it will 'be-'apparent thatthe'decreased thickness of the'paekinglwi'll permit a further radial movement -thatwifll 'be' adequatefor the pur-pose'of restoring' a satisfactory nonlea-kagel pressurelagainst the cylinder wall.

,In Fig. 11 is illustrated one modification of the structure shown inFig. 1; In the latter, the packing rings 13 are bevele'd on the inside,relative' to the segments V18, whereas in :the modification,said'rings'ar'e bevefled on the outside. 'The same rings maybe employedby merely reversing their position a-ndfinclining theopposite walls 21,of the circumferential groove 22'for .coacti'on with similarly-in'clined surfaces of the packing rings 23.

The walls 21 converge .outwardly from `the lateral'surface .of the-pisto'n 24kV and, when retained in position by a ring composed -sofvsegments 25, is .eff'ectively locked ,againsftradial movement; Themanner of 'applying thepacking 2 3to the position, itsustyie offunctioning and use are similar to the ;packing described above. I a

Either ofmy sug-"ested modes of'construction ofiers a very e cient means`-fo-i` satisfactorily controlling the .outward thrust vof the packingwith manifest advantages from .the

standpoint of wear, but without affecting in the slightest degree theprimary function of .the packing. It will be noted that the packof aremutually interlocked against a similar action. However, it will bedistinctly underi stood that the essence of my invention resides in thecontrol of the outward, radial movement of the packing and that,accordingly,

. this function is not dependent upon the use of a series of packingrings for each piston, as shown in Fig. 1, nor upon the use of a doublering construction. Moreover, it will be apparent that the conceptionembodie-d in this application is not only adaptable to pistons, but alsoto piston valves and many other devices where similar operatingconditions obtain. i I

While I have shown one set of elements and combinations thereof foreifectuating my improved ring packing, it will be understood that thesame'is for the purpose of illustration only and in nowise to limit mydevice to the exact forms and structures shown, for many changes may bemade therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with a member having f a groove, of packingdisposedin said groove comprising an inner and an outer ring arranged innested relation, said inner ring being L-shaped in section with one limbthereof angularly inclined to the depth of said groove, said outer ringhaving a side similarly inclined for coaction with said limb forretention against radial movement by said inner ring, and a' segmental,retaining ring including an inclined face for cooperating with saidinner ring to limit the outward radial movement of the same, said ringbeing removable in segments from said member independently of saidrings.

2. The combination with a member having a groove, of packing comprisingapair of rings disposed in said groove in spaced relation, each of saidrings being composed of interlocking elements, and a segmental retainingring for limiting the outward radial V movement of said packing rings,said ring A being removable in segments from said member independentlyof said rings.

3. The combination with a member havingfl a groove, of packingcomprising a pair of rngs disposed 1n said groove in spaced relation,each of said rings being composed of interlocking elements arranged innested relation, and a segmental retaining ring for limiting the outwardradial movement of said packing rings, said ring being removable insegments from said member independently of said rings. i

4. The combination with a member having a groove, of packing disposed insaid groove comprising an inner and an outer ring arranged in nestedrelation, said inner ring being L-shaped in section with one limbthereof angularly inclined to the depth of said groove, said outer ringhaving a side similarly inclined for coaction with said limb forretention against radial movement by said inner ring, and meanscooperating with said nested ringsand thev groove for limiting theoutward radial movement of said rings.

5. The-combination with a movable memfor limiting the' outward radialmovement of i said packing.

6. The combination with a movable member having a groove, of packingcomprising a pair of rings disposed in said groove in spaced relation,-each of said rings comprising an inner and an outer ring arranged innefsted relation,, said inner ring being L- shaped in section with onelimb thereof angu-v larly inclined to the depth of said groove, saidouter ring having a side similarly inclined for coaction with said limbfor re- `tention against radial movement by said inner ring, and aretaining ring cooperating with said nested rings and the groove forlimiting the outward radial movement of said packing.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

JOSEPH F. BATTY.

